There are a total of 21 British male riders signed up to top-level UCI WorldTour teams for the 2018 season – up from 17 riders last year.

Just about every facet of road racing is covered: with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, world-beating sprinters, top time triallists and climbers among them.

Although the likes of Chris Froome, Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas and Steve Cummings are well established, there is also fresh and exciting British talent getting a chance to shine in the WorldTour. Watch out for emerging world-class riders Scott Davies, Jonathan Dibben, Chris Lawless, James Knox and James Shaw.

And could this be the year that we see Adam and/or Simon Yates appear on a Grand Tour podium, or Ian Stannard or Luke Rowe claim a Monument?

Hugh Carthy

After two years with Spanish outfit Caja Rural–Seguros RGA, Hugh Carthy has stepped up to the WorldTour in 2017 with American team Cannondale-Drapac – now renamed at EF Education First-Drapac for 2018. Carthy had forged a name for himself has a climbing specialist, and took overall victory in the 2016 Vuelta a Asturias and ninth overall in the Volta a Catalunya. He started the Giro d’Italia in 2017, finishing 92nd overall. Now in his second year in the WorldTour, Carthy should be hitting his stride and perhaps we will see his climbing talent come to the fore once again.

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish is the most successful British rider in the history of the sport, with over 140 victories as he hits the 2018 season. He’s also one of the most successful riders of any nation, and in 2016 his four Tour de France stage victories elevated him to just behind Eddy Merckx in the list of all-time Tour stage winners – Cavendish has 30 to Merckx’s 34. Sadly, a clash with Peter Sagan on stage four of the 2017 Tour saw his hopes of adding to that tally evaporate, and his season was curtailed as he nursed a shoulder injury. Along with the 2018 Tour, Cavendish has said that he wants to ride Paris-Roubaix.

Steve Cummings

Steve Cummings has forged a place for himself as an opportunistic rider and attacker. His 2016 season was arguably his most successful to date, with a series of attacks netting him stage wins in the Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour of the Basque Country and Tirreno-Adriatico as well as the overall victory in the Tour of Britain. He could not repeat the feat in 2017, as his 2018 season was marred by crashes. He did, however, claim both the road race and time trial British titles. He’s becoming one of the older statesmen of the peloton now, and will undoubtedly be looking for more success in 2018.

Scott Davies

Scott Davies been an impressive mainstay of Britain’s junior and under-23 squads, and latterly Team Wiggins, and has netted himself a ride with Dimension Data for 2018 as he heads for the WorldTour. He’s a strong rider against the clock, and may be handed a couple of opportunities to see how he fares in individual time trials as well as learning the ropes from the team’s experienced riders, such as Steve Cummings.

Jonathan Dibben

Jonathan Dibben made his debut for Team Sky in 2017, having ridden as a stagiaire for Cannondale-Drapac towards the end of 2016. Although Dibben was just scheduled to gain experience at Sky during 2017, he put in an impressive ride to net victory in the Tour of California’s individual time trial. It’ll be a case of continuing that trajectory in 2018.

Owain Doull

A ruptured appendix just before the Tour Down Under curtailed the early season in 2017 for Welshman Owain Doull in his first year with Team Sky. He bounced back quickly, though, and scored a couple of top 10s – including ninth in the Tour of Britain. More opportunities to lead in smaller stage races should come his way in 2018.

Alex Dowsett

A switch in teams from Movistar to Katusha-Alpecin for Alex Dowsett could see the time trial specialist reinvigorated for the 2018 season. As well as hunting for time trial victories, Dowsett could form part of German sprinter Marcel Kittel’s lead-out train, performing domestique duties and helping to chase down breaks.

Chris Froome

Chris Froome broke new ground for a British racer in 2017, becoming the first to ever win the Vuelta a España, right after claiming his fourth Tour win. However, an adverse analytical finding for salbutamol during the Vuelta has taken the shine off a stand-out year, and there is still some possibility that he could be served with a suspension. But for now, it’s business as usual, and Froome will be aiming to take a fifth Tour victory in July.

Tao Geoghegan Hart

Tao Geoghegan Hart. Photo: Daniel Gould

Team: Team SkyDate of birth (age): March 30 1995 (22)Birthplace: Hackney, London

Tao Geoghegan Hart settled in quickly at Team Sky in his debut season in 2017, claiming top 10 places overall in the Tour of California and Tour de Yorkshire. Those were confidence-boosting performances, and he can go into 2018 in the knowledge that he can already mix it with the best – particularly in shorter stage races.

Peter Kennaugh

After eight years at Team Sky, Peter Kennaugh has moved to Bora-Hansgrohe for 2018 and will be seeking opportunities to take some big wins. He’s already shown that he is capable and consistent, and his Critérium du Dauphiné victory in 2017 atop Alpe d’Huez was one of his career highlights. At 28, Kennaugh should be at his peak and looks keen to capitalise on it.

James Knox

Second place in the under-23 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège for James Knox and a string of top 10 places in some of the biggest under-23 races evidently caught the attention of Quick-Step Floors. The Belgian team offered Knox his first pro contract, and he join the star-studded list of riders on the squad. There are few better teams in which to gain first-hand experience of racing at the top level.

Chris Lawless

A solid year with US development team Axeon–Hagens Berman saw Chris Lawless make a big impression, and he ranks among the brightest new British talent. There’s no immediate pressure on Lawless to bring in big results in his first year, and he has said that he is hoping to gain experience and develop into an all-round rider.

Daniel McLay

Sprinter Daniel McLay has been handed a spot on a WorldTour team after three seasons on the Fortuneo–Oscaro squad. He’s already shown that he can mix it up with some of the biggest names in sprinting, and could be hunting for a third consecutive Tour de France start in July. With limited sprint talent at EF Education First-Drapac, McLay could well find himself their biggest hope for success on flat stages.

Luke Rowe

Along with Sky team-mate Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe can often be seen sat at the front of the peloton, grinding out a relentless pace for his team-mates. Rowe’s 2017 campaign started well, as he took his first solo victory in over four years with a stage of the Herald Sun Tour. A couple of solid performances in the Classics followed, with a podium spot at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. However, his luck ran out in the bigger one-day races and then disaster struck in August when he suffered a severe leg injury jumping into a river while white-water rafting on his brother’s stag event. It is not known when Rowe will return to racing, or what to expect when he does.

James Shaw

Having stepped up from stagiaire to contracted rider with Lotto-Soudal for 2017, Shaw eased into the WorldTour riding a varied calendar that started with the Tour Down Under and took in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tour de Romandie,
Critérium du Dauphiné, RideLondon-Surrey Classic and the Tour of Britain. Shaw is a hard worker, so expect to see him at the front of the bunch putting in the hard work for his team-mates.

Ian Stannard

By Ian Stannard‘s standards, 2017 was something of a disappointment. For the first time in four years, the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner failed to make the top 10 of a Classic. His sole win was stage four of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia in February. He was also absent from Sky’s Tour de France squad, having assisted Froome to his first three overall wins. Stannard will be gunning to make amends in the Classics in 2018, particularly with the likelihood that a recovering Luke Rowe may be ruled out.

Ben Swift

Hilly, tough races suit Ben Swift’s talents, where his sprint means that he can often prevail – as his two Milan-San Remo podium appearances prove. Last year was a relatively quiet one in terms of results, and a big win has still yet to come his way – but that could change in 2018.

Geraint Thomas

It would be easy to let Geraint Thomas‘s crashes in the Giro and Tour hide his real achievements in the past season – most notably winning the opening time trial of the Tour de France and earning the right to wear the coveted yellow jersey. With Chris Froome handed Team Sky leadership at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour in 2018, there are few opportunities for Thomas to take leadership in a Grand Tour for Sky, particularly as he has only ever ridden the Vuelta once, in 2015.

Scott Thwaites

Scott Thwaites continues to put in solid performances in the 2017 Classics, with a programme that included Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke and Strade Bianche – the latter saw him place 10th. He then went on to complete the Tour de France for the first time in his career. We’d expect more of the same from Thwaites in 2018.

Adam Yates

Along with brother Simon and team-mate Esteban Chaves, Adam Yates is part of Mitchelton-Scott’s line-up of Grand Tour hopefuls. A hugely impressive performance in the 2016 Tour saw him take fourth place overall and the white jersey of best young rider in just his second outing in the race. He focussed on the Giro and Vuelta in 2017, placing ninth in the former, and will return to the Tour in 2018 as team leader.

Simon Yates

Stage wins in the Tour de Romandie and Paris-Nice led onto Simon Yates claiming the white jersey of best young rider at the Tour de France after placing seventh overall. It’s Simon’s turn to tackle the Giro and Vuelta in 2018, where he will join team-mate Chaves in Mitchelton-Scott’s strengthened Grand Tour line-up. Could one or both of the Yates brothers finally make it onto a Grand Tour podium in 2018? The signs look good.

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